The sound of horns, whistles, drums...

GIVE BEASTS A CHANCE.

September 21, 1987

ROME — GIVE BEASTS A CHANCE. The sound of horns, whistles, drums and tambourines filled forests Sunday as 5,000 banner-waving activists tried to scare away wildlife and disrupt the opening day of Italy's hunting season. Two hunters were arrested for firing shots in the direction of the protesters. ''We're giving the animals a chance to escape and the hunters a pretext to think about hunting in a new way,'' said Staffan de Mistura, director of the Italian chapter of the World Wildlife Fund. Paolo Leporatti, president of Italy's hunting association, defended hunting as ''not only a sport or passion but a real philosophy of life . . .''